Paramedics said the patient was verbally abusive and violent on the way to the hospital and he demanded to be let out of the ambulance, and the paramedics obliged by leaving him in an alley.

It's a sacred trust between residents and government: A 911 medical call will be answered, and unless the patient refuses treatment, they will be transported. But what happened after a Baltimore City EMS crew picked up a patient is under investigation.

Jacqueline Cummings made a complaint about what she said she witnessed on Sept. 27 that still bothers her.

"I just saw a paramedic take a person out of an ambulance and put them in an alley and I don't understand that," she said. "I was sitting in my car waiting for a friend. I noticed an ambulance pull up. It had its lights on. I saw two paramedics get out of the unit. When they assisted the elderly man out of the ambulance, they walked into the alley, they came back quickly and they didn't have the elderly man there. They left him there."

Cummings said she found the man between two garbage cans.

"He explained to me that he was homeless, that he was a diabetic and that he was, in fact, blind," Cummings said.

The incident report indicates the man complained about chest pains to a police officer and police dispatch called an ambulance. The female paramedics who responded report the patient was well known to providers and had been transported countless times. They said he was intoxicated, verbally abusive and tried to grope one of them.

At one point, he yelled and screamed to be let out. They said he struck one of them with his cane, then held it like a baseball bat, swinging it. The paramedics said, per his wishes, they assisted the patient into an alley where he would be off the street and out of harm's way.

Cummings said he wasn't safe.

"I saw three cars pass through the alley, one of them was going extremely fast," Cummings said. "I said, 'Why did the paramedics bring you here and leave you in the alley?' He said because he had been seen at the hospital earlier that day."

"That incident is under investigation and is pending an administrative hearing," Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Ian Brennan said. "We take this accusation very seriously, so we are going to do an investigation background interviews."

Call records indicate Cummings' complaint went far up the chain of command. A supervisor met her in the alley that night, and he called another ambulance to take the man to a hospital. Because of privacy laws, it's unknown what happened to him after that.

Fire officials have yet to provide a copy of the department's policy about handling such incidents. According to state guidelines, if a patient changes their mind, even en route, paramedics are advised to let them go.

Because of Cummings' complaint, and as a matter of due process, the case now goes to an administrative hearing to determine if the paramedics acted properly.

DOUSED IN ACCELERANT RAN INTO THE CHURCH RECTORY. THAT MAN WAS ALSO KILLED. A BALTIMORE CITY PARAMEDIC CREW IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR THE WAY THEY HANDLE THE PATIENT. THEY RESPONDED TO A CALL OF CHEST PAINS. IT IS WHAT THEY DID ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL THAT HAS GOTTEN HIM IN TROUBLE. DAVE AND COLLINS JOINS US WITH MORE -- DAVID COLLINS JOINS US WITH MORE. THE PATIENT IS BLIND , DIABETIC, AND HE DEMANDED TO BE LET OUT OF THE AMBULANCE. THEY OBLIGED BY LEAVING HIM IN AN ALLEY. A 911 MEDICAL ALL WILL BE ANSWERED AND UNLESS THE PATIENT REFUSES TREATMENT, THEY WILL BE TRANSPORTED. BUT WHAT HAPPENED AFTER A BALTIMORE CITY EMS CREW PICKED UP THE PATIENT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. GET -- THEY TOOK SOMEONE OUT OF THE AMBULANCE AND PUT HIM IN THE ALLEY. JACKIE CUMMINGS MADE THAT COMPLAINT. WHAT SHE WITNESSED STILL BOTHERS HER. I NOTICED AN AMBULANCE PULL UP. AND IT HAD ITS LIGHTS -- I SAW TWO PARAMEDICS GET OUT OF THE UNIT, GO AROUND TO THE BACK OF THE UNIT, AND ASSIST AN ELDERLY MAN OUT OF THE AMBULANCE. THEY WALKED INTO THE ALLEY. THEY CAME BACK QUICKLY AND THEY DID NOT HAVE THE ELDERLY MAN THERE. THEY LEFT HIM THERE. JACKIE USING THE FLASHLIGHT APP ON HER PHONE INVESTIGATED. SHE FOUND HIM BETWEEN TWO GARBAGE CANS. HE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT HE WAS HOMELESS, HE WAS DIABETIC, AND HE WAS BLIND. SHE CALLED TO -- SHE COMPLAINED TO A POLICE OFFICER. THE PATIENT WAS WELL KNOWN TO PROVIDERS AND THEY SAY THAT HE WAS INTOXICATED, VERBALLY ABUSIVE, AND TRIED TO GROPE ONE OF THEM. AT ONE POINT, HE SCREAMED TO BE LET OUT. HE STRUCK ONE OF THEM WITH HIS CANE AND HELD IT LIKE A BASEBALL BAT, SWINGING IT. THE PARAMEDIC SAID PER HIS WISHES, HE WAS LED INTO AN ALLEY WHERE HE WOULD BE OUT OF HARMS WAY. I SAW THREE CARS. ONE OF THEM WAS GOING EXTREMELY FAST. THEY LET HIM OUT INTO AN ALLEY. IS THAT POLICY? THAT INCIDENT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION PENDING AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING. THEY LEFT HIM IN AN ALLEY. HE SAID BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN SEEN AT THE HOSPITAL EARLIER THAT DAY. WE TAKE THAT ACCUSATION VERY SERIOUSLY. WE'RE GOING TO DO INVESTIGATION. A SUPERVISOR MET HER IN THE ALLEY THAT NIGHT AND CALLED

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